Gaddafi’s Daughter-in-Law Claims Damascus Incident was an Attempted Kidnap

General view shows Damascus, Syria. Reuters file photo
General view shows Damascus, Syria. Reuters file photo
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Gaddafi’s Daughter-in-Law Claims Damascus Incident was an Attempted Kidnap

General view shows Damascus, Syria. Reuters file photo
General view shows Damascus, Syria. Reuters file photo

The daughter-in-law of late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi has expressed her desire to leave Syria, where she is granted political asylum.

Aline Skaf is claiming that security forces attempting to arrest her in Damascus last week was part of a larger plot to kidnap her. She expressed fears of meeting the same fate as her husband, Hannibal Gaddafi, who is currently detained in Lebanon.

On January 24, security forces scrambled in the Chiekh Saad neighborhood in the Syrian capital after Skaf having rammed her car into police officers and pedestrians in a road rage attack, local witnesses reported.

Skaf, however, was spirited away by an influential Syrian official who saved her from being arrested.

The former model’s defense attorneys released a message directed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, telling their client’s side of the story and stating that she was dealt a great deal of injustice.

Circulated on social media platforms and by media outlets in Lebanon, the letter voiced Skaf’s concerns that she has overstayed her welcome in Syria.

“We thank you for hosting us for five years, and for granting us safety, but I think that our visit was prolonged and guests must not outstay their welcome,” it said.

Recounting the events of the incident, the letter noted that Skaf was heading to shop in the Mezzeh area with her friend and 15-year-old son.

While Skaf was parked by the side of the road waiting to collect her purchases from a nearby store, a policeman showed up and pulled her over requesting documents.

“She complied with the officer’s request and told him that she would not park for too long,” the letter confirmed, adding that the policeman had blocked Skaf’s way with his motorbike and refused to allow her to leave.

The officer also denied Skaf’s request to have her escorting bodyguards sort out the situation, despite them producing needed identification.

According to Skaf, the policeman used inappropriate language and proceeded to sit on her vehicle’s hood.

Maintaining that there was another officer filming the quarrel, the letter said that the speed at which Syrian opposition media outlets reported the incident confirms that it was a set up aimed at undermining Syrian leadership.

The letter stressed that danger looms over members of Hannibal Gaddafi’s family.



Berri: Bloodshed in South Lebanon is ‘Urgent Call’ to Compel Israel to Withdraw

26 January 2025, Lebanon, Kfarkila: A Lebanese soldier opens the road to an ambulance carrying a wounded Lebanese shot by Israeli army as he tried to enter into his southern Lebanese village of Aitaroun. Photo: Marwan Naamani/dpa
26 January 2025, Lebanon, Kfarkila: A Lebanese soldier opens the road to an ambulance carrying a wounded Lebanese shot by Israeli army as he tried to enter into his southern Lebanese village of Aitaroun. Photo: Marwan Naamani/dpa
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Berri: Bloodshed in South Lebanon is ‘Urgent Call’ to Compel Israel to Withdraw

26 January 2025, Lebanon, Kfarkila: A Lebanese soldier opens the road to an ambulance carrying a wounded Lebanese shot by Israeli army as he tried to enter into his southern Lebanese village of Aitaroun. Photo: Marwan Naamani/dpa
26 January 2025, Lebanon, Kfarkila: A Lebanese soldier opens the road to an ambulance carrying a wounded Lebanese shot by Israeli army as he tried to enter into his southern Lebanese village of Aitaroun. Photo: Marwan Naamani/dpa

Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said that Sunday's bloodshed in southern Lebanon “is a clear and urgent call for the international community to act immediately.”

Israeli forces in southern Lebanon on Sunday opened fire on protesters demanding their withdrawal in line with a ceasefire agreement, killing at least 22 and injuring 124, Lebanese health officials reported.
The dead included six women and a Lebanese army soldier, the Health Ministry said in a statement. People were reported wounded in nearly 20 villages in the border area.

In remarks carried by the Lebanese media, Berri also said that the international community should “compel Israel to withdraw from occupied Lebanese territories.”

Berri, whose Amal Movement party is allied with Hezbollah, served as an interlocutor between the militant group and the US during ceasefire negotiations.